We leave the Republic of Ireland for a visit of fewer than 48 hours in Northern Ireland. For us, the idea of ​​going in Northern Ireland was essential: we had to see this region which is known worldwide for its “Troubles”. We had planned also to visit the region of the Giant Causeway, in the far north, but why add kilometres to see rock formations in the rain and fog… So we changed our plans and made instead a stop in the city of Derry before going to Belfast.

The situation in Northern Ireland has improved a lot since the 1998 agreements between the Catholic and Protestant factions, but there are still some latent tensions between the two communities. (We’ll talk about that in the next post…) You can’t hate one another for centuries without leaving scares difficult to heal! Today, there is no longer a border crossings between the two countries and the only clues you have that you changed countries is that you go from kilometres to miles, Euros to Pounds, and the Union Jack flies everywhere. As for the Northern Irishman, they were as (if not more) welcoming as those in the Republic!